From an House Committee on Education and Labor Press Release (12/9/09):
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released last spring exposed hundreds of cases of schoolchildren being abused as a result of inappropriate uses of restraint and seclusion, often involving untrained staff. In some cases, children died. A disproportionate number of these victims were students with disabilities.
“Something is very wrong when our children are at risk in their own classrooms,” said Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee who requested the GAO’s investigation. “In some cases, the abuses these kids are suffering are nothing short of torture inflicted at the hands of the very staff we entrust with their safety. Today is a critical first step toward finally ending this nightmare of abuse and ensuring that all classrooms are safe for students, their teachers, and the entire school communities.”
“As a parent, when I send my son Cole to school, my husband Brian and I send him with the expectation that he is safe from danger. We entrust him to teachers, principals, and aides. And we know those school personnel have done an outstanding job to help him and keep him safe. Yet, we know this has not been the case for other children, particularly children with disabilities who are the most vulnerable and need the most protection,” said McMorris Rodgers, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and vice chair of the House Republican Conference. “I’ve looked into this and have come to the conclusion that there is a lack of training. As difficult situations arise, teachers or principals just don’t know what to do. The legislation that we are introducing today gives states the needed guidance and resources to enable teachers and school personnel to handle difficult situations in the most positive manner possible.”
“The tragedies associated with the inappropriate use of seclusion and restraint are not only unacceptable, they are unconscionable,” said Dodd. “There is no place in our schools for what amounts to torture, and we need clear standards for the use of tactics that lead to the physical and psychological abuse of children. This legislation will set clear guidelines so that children and educators alike can be sure of a safe learning environment.”
>>> For the Text of the Bill-H.R. 4247
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2009
DODD INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO PROTECT SCHOOLCHILDREN FROM HARMFUL RESTRAINT AND SECLUSIONWASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today introduced legislation to prevent the harmful use of seclusion and restraint on students. The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act would help ensure the safety and security of both teachers and students by preventing and reducing the use of restraint and seclusion techniques in schools. The legislation, which was also introduced in the House of Representatives today by Congressman George Miller (D-CA), would also provide proper training for school personnel who impose these techniques, in order to ensure the safety of students and educators alike.
Dodd wrote and helped pass legislation to protect children from the misuse of restraint and seclusion in most hospitals and residential facilities after an 11-year-old boy from Portland, CT died from being improperly restrained in a psychiatric hospital in 1998.
“The tragedies associated with the inappropriate use of seclusion and restraint are not only unacceptable, they are unconscionable,” said Dodd. “There is no place in our schools for what amounts to torture, and we need clear standards for the use of tactics that lead to the physical and psychological abuse of children. This legislation will set clear guidelines so that children and educators alike can be sure of a safe learning environment.”
“Children should not be abused under the guise of discipline, but time after time, we’ve heard horrific accounts of what is nothing less than torture in classrooms at the hands of untrained staff,” said Congressman Miller. “It is unbelievable that children have protections against harmful restraint and seclusion in other facilities, but not in school where they spend the majority of their time. Senator Dodd and I both know it is necessary to help set the important minimum health and safety standards to stop these horrific abuses. ”
The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act will:
- Prohibit the use of restraint and seclusion in schools unless the student’s behavior poses an immediate danger of physical injury and less restrictive interventions would be ineffective.
- Prohibit the use of any mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, or physical restraint that restricts air flow to the lungs, and any other aversive behavioral intervention that compromises health and safety.
- Require adequate training for school personnel imposing restraint and seclusion.
- Require immediate parental notification and a school debriefing following each incident of restraint or seclusion.
- Require states to create a state plan that incorporates the minimum standards and report annually on the number of incidents of restraint and seclusion.
- Provide competitive grants to assist with developing and implementing the state plan, providing training and certification to school personnel, and implementing positive behavioral supports to further prevent restraint and seclusion.
- Instruct the Department of Education to conduct and provide to Congress a national assessment which analyzes data on restraint and seclusion and effective practices in preventing and reducing incidents.
Dodd is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and chairman of its Subcommittee on Children and Families. Congressman Miller is the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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